Face frames rail width with under cabinet lighting

[Roger Jensen]

I'm using 1 1/2 rails and stiles for my face frame cabinets. If I drop them 1/4 inch from the bottom of the cabinet bottom (to act as the stop when closing the door) I'll have one inch below the bottom of the cabinet.

Is this "deep" enough for under cabinet lighting? I haven't purchased the lights yet, but a quick check around the web looks like they are about one inch thick.

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for brands and suppliers of under cabinet lights? I live in California so I'll be installing a dedicated circuit for these things.

Thanks,

Roger

[Jamie Buxton]

There are lots of things sold for undercabinet lighting, and I'm sure you'll find adherents of each kind on this board. Here's my take...

Fluorescent... Can fit in your 1" height. Good efficiency. Reasonable price. Ugly color of light.

LED.. Incredibly expensive. Light color not the greatest.

Halogen and xenon puck lights. Terrific color. Can fit in your 1". With the usual 20W bulbs, gets way too hot for me. The floor of the cabinet feels hot to the touch.

Halogen mini track. Currently my favorite. Terrific color. Will fit in 1" height. You can use 5W bulbs, so the heating is much better than the 20W pucks. I've used Seagull's in kitchens and in display cabinets. http://www.seagulllighting.com/Linear-Lighting.htm

[Roger Jensen]

Thanks! That was just what I was looking for.

I haven't cut the rails yet for the uppers. Do you think it would look OK to make them a bit wider, say 1 3/4 or a full 2 inches? Since the stiles are all 1 1/2 I didn't know if it would look funny to mix them. However, I am using 1 inch rails on the lowers so I guess I could mix and match them.

Thanks again.

Roger

[Steve Clardy]

I use two inch rails and stiles all around on upper cabs.
This leaves one and a quarter inch under the cab for lightning.
I use the flat florescent one inch thin lights.